Auburn Ranked as Expected in College Football AP Preseason Poll

The Preseason AP Top 25 is out and confirmed Auburn’s preseason ranking at No.22. This is exactly where most Auburn fans expected to be at the start of the season. This is a confirmation of the USA Today Coaches' Poll that came out earlier and ranked Auburn at No.23.

The only teams that the two polls seem to disagree on are Southern California and Utah. All of the remaining teams are close in their ranking. The top five are similar in both polls containing the same teams.

Southern California was left out of the Coaches’ Poll due to impending sanctions. The AP was able to include them since the poll is no longer used as part of the BCS formula.

This is the expected and earned position for the Auburn Tigers. Many in the national media seem to believe that Auburn has much potential and will be a much improved team this season.

The local media have again proved true to its history and predicts little from Auburn this season. In state rival Alabama is thought of more highly as they have been for most of the last five decades. The AP voters from the state are again writers that do most of their work based on the Crimson Tide.

The national media seems intrigued with the 2010 Tiger team and seem to be looking for a reason to move them back onto the list of elite teams in the nation. From this point forward it will be up to Auburn to show what they are made of on the field.

If this Auburn team is able to meet expectations on the field, there is little doubt that the national media will push them up in the rankings quickly. While information about the Tiger team is still sparse on a national scale, due to lack of local media coverage, it seems that enough information has gotten out, getting the team the attention it deserves.

It has been two years since the Auburn Tigers were included in the list of elite teams in the nation. This is the first year a Gene Chizik coached Auburn team has been unanimously ranked in the preseason. The team will be more intensely looked upon and judged.

They must perform up to expectations and earn the trust of the national media. The local media will not be a national cheerleader for them as they are for their across state rival.